Maple Lodge Farms was charged with failure to prevent undue suffering by undue exposure to weather of a large number of chickens, and found guilty on Sept. 27, 2013 of two charges under the Health of Animals Act and its regulations involving the conditions of the transportation of two types of fowl to Maple Lodge Farms for slaughter. On March 27, 2014, the corporation also plead guilty to a further eighteen counts under that statute and regulations.
Details from the original trial can be found here.
The judge began this sentencing decision with “Much can be ascertained about a civilized country by the way its animals are treated”.
In Count 7, Maple Lodge Farms transported 9,576 chickens between Clifford, Ontario and Brampton, Ontario via tractor trailer, including 711 chickens found “dead on arrival” at unloading, where injury or undue suffering was likely to be caused to the animal by reason of undue exposure to the weather, contrary to the Health of Animals Regulations, thereby commiting an offence under section 65(1) of the Health of Animals Act.
In Count 34, the Court found that Maple Lodge Farms transported 10,944 chickens between Moorefield, Ontario and Brampton, Ontario, also via tractor trailer, including 1,181 chickens found “dead on arrival” at unloading, where injury or undue suffering was likely to be caused to the animal by reason of undue exposure to the weather, contrary to the same legislative provisions.
To summarize, over one year and four months, (December 2008 – April 2010), a total of 25,450 chickens died inhumanely by undue exposure to weather or inadequate ventilation during transport.
The Court expressed gratitude for the hard work of both counsel and their respective clients in thorough negotiations to resolve the remaining 58 counts with selected pleas to eighteen further counts, arriving at a total of twenty counts for which Maple Lodge Farms has been found guilty which they found represented an acceptance of responsibility on the part of the corporation. The Court also found their proposed joint sentencing submission to be appropriate, stating “Animal welfare is paramount. Such a sentence serves to deter the company and others from committing such offences” (para. 35).
After acknowledging that the corporation had taken some remedial measures, including personnel changes as an attempt to change the corporate culture to reduce the likelihood of future violations (although many of those measures occurred years after the first charges were imposed), the Court admonished their initial inaction:
The gravity of the offences cannot be understated. Thousands of birds died and many more likely suffered through undue exposure to weather and inadequate ventilation in tarped trailers over a significant period of time. Very little or nothing was done to improve conditions to prevent recurrence at that time. Equipment remained stagnant.
Training was inadequate. Review was perfunctory. Complacency infected the environment. Economic imperatives trumped animal welfare.” (para. 49)
The Court also commended both counsel and their clients for arriving at a joint submission that reflected not only deterrence for Maple Lodge Farms from any noncompliance with the Health of Animals Act but would also serve as a model to rectify some of the difficulties in the poultry industry which have tended to compromise the humane treatment of animals (para. 53).
Finding the joint submission to be appropriate, a total fine of $80,000 ($40,000 per count), along with a 15% victim surcharge free and three years’ probation with oversight of an Independent Expert to oversee practices to ensure regulations and policies are practiced and observed, reporting back to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Court.